


Sick Leave

by 42WishingonaLeaf44



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M, Sick Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-29
Updated: 2014-01-29
Packaged: 2018-01-10 11:28:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1159161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/42WishingonaLeaf44/pseuds/42WishingonaLeaf44
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It takes Rielly getting sick to make him and Gardiner see what they mean to each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sick Leave

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first hockey story, so I'm sorry if it's not very good, I tried. Reimer is only mentioned in one scene in here. Please leave me a comment on any spelling errors or any feedback to help me approve my writing, I will love you forever, thank you :)

After practice Jake drove them home, once inside their shared apartment, he disappeared into his room. He dropped his bag and stripped to his boxer briefs, wanting just the comfort of his giant bed. What feels like half an hour later, he gets woken up by Gards telling him that their pre-game meal will be there any minute.

Morgan waits till Jake leaves shutting the door behind him, until he gets up and throws on a loose pair of shorts. He goes to the bathroom attached to his room to throw some water on his face. His skin is burning and he doesn't feel any better, just that his ears have come unblocked and his nose is now stuffed instead of runny. 

When he hears Jake talking to someone he goes out to the living room to see Jake pay- the delivery man for their food. Jake brings it over and sets it down in front of Morgan who has taken his spot on the couch. Morgan smiles when he sees that it's from his favourite little restaurant and he can bet anything it's chicken alfredo, his favourite. 

It makes him happy that even though Jake always gangs up with the guys to chirp him, that he really does care. They are actually really close friends, it feels like they have known each other forever. 

Jake offers to clean up after they are finished eating and tells him to go get ready to leave and to prepare himself for the big game tonight against Montreal. 

Both of them gather in the living room at the same time and make their way downstairs to the jeep to head off to the rink. Once they get inside the trainers are worried about Morgan and if he will be able to play through this flu. He says he can but they don't take his word and make him go through a series of exercises and test. After wasting half an hour they finally agree that he can play , leaving him rushed to get warmed up and dressed in time for pre-game skate. 

At second intermission they are down 4-1, the atmosphere in the dressing room is heavy. It's not helping with the fact that Morgan feels even worse than he has ever before. He wonders if anyone has ever puked on ice mid game. It's only 20 minutes he tells himself, he can do this, he's played through worse. The coaches noticed to, they have cut down his time on ice, it's at the lowest it's been all season, even lower then when he first started on this team 5 months ago. 

Halfway through the third they score 2 quick goals in a minute and half, from Kessel and Mason. It was starting to look good, they were playing strong hockey and even Reimer in net was robbing guys like it wasn't his business. With just over a minute left in the game Phaneuf takes a stupid penalty, all because a guy dived and made it look like he was tripped. You could feel everyone on the bench deflate as we watched our top penalty killer go off the ice into the box. 

Morgan had his arms on the wall with his head hanging between them when he felt the guys all jump up around him. He looked up just in time to see Bozie on the breakaway with some nice hand work, confused Price and the puck went in! Rielly glanced at the clock there was 4.2 seconds left and Bozie had tied the game. 

Half way through overtime Morgan was on ice paired with Gards and had Holland and Kulie with them on the front. Riells had a wicked pass to Holly who managed with the others help to get it into the habs zone. Kulie was deep in to the left of the net when Gards shot the puck right onto the tape of his stick. It was the fasted he has ever seen Kulie move as he pretended to move it around the net for a wrap around when at the last moment he fired it to Holly who was waiting in front of the net. The puck flew past Price who was expecting it on the other side. With that the whole bench was racing on the ice to celebrate with the guys on already and Reims at the other end. 

After the game Morgan takes his time in the shower, the hot water feels good on his aching muscles and clears his head. He still feels awful but the 3rd period comeback has lifted his spirits. Plus the longer he stays there the less likely he is to run into any reporters. 

He can't remember anything about the drive home or focus on what Jake is saying. But when he gets home he tells Jake that he is going to have to pass on the post game video gaming they usually bond over. He barely has time to close his bedroom door before he is sprinting to his bathroom to puke. The last time he remember throwing up he was only 8 or 9. He can't hold himself up anymore and slowly slides down onto the floor, the cold feels so good on his sore muscles and he drifts off to unconsciousness.

He is jolted up right, he can't open his eyes or fully wake up to say anything but he is aware of what's happening.

Jake finds him laying on the bathroom floor and it scares him, he has never seen Morgan so defenseless and weak. He looks like a little boy curled up on the floor, his face is bright red and under his eyes is shadowed.

Morgan came to enough again to realize that Jake had him on his bed now and was taking his suit and socks off of him, seeing as he had passed out fully dressed. Morgan still wasn't awake enough to say or do anything so he just lays there, he was sure if his face wasn't already flaming red that Jake would have seen him blushing. It was sweet though when a moment later Jake had disappeared then came back in with a cold face cloth and wiped down Morgan's face and left it on his forehead. 

 

Jake woke several times that night and each time went in to check on Morgan. He would check his temperature then go get a new cold cloth to replace the old one. Then he would stand there for a moment and make sure Morgan was alright before going back to bed himself. 

 

Morgan woke to Jake calling his name the next morning , the bright sunlight hurt his over sensitive eyes, Jake noticed and walked over and closed the curtains again. That's when he noticed that Jake was carrying a glass full of ice chips in his hand. 

"Here eat these, they won't upset your stomach and they will bring the fever down my mom said." Morgan got a warm feeling thinking about how much Jake cared about him and was worried about him enough to call his mom and ask for advice. 

"Thanks." Morgan tried to say but it came out hoarse and his throat tightened around the pain as he tried to talk. It really was a good thing his face was red cause here he was again blushing like crazy as Jake just stood there looking awkward and like he wanted to hug Morgan to make it better or something. Morgan had learned by now every time he had saw something and thought maybe Jake wanted to hug him or be close to him, that is was just his crush on him taking over his brain and confusing things.

"I was ahh - really worried about you last night, you weren't doing so well so I um --- c-called the med guy to come over and look at you." Jake manages to get out as he stares at his feet or the floor, Morgan can't tell. But was Jake really that worried about him that he started stuttering on his words.

Morgan opens his mouth to say that it's okay but it hurts too much and he just ends up nodding. His muscles still ach so when his arm gets tired of feeding himself the ice he uses the last of his energy to put the glass on the table. Jake must see the pain he is in because a minute later he sits on the edge of the bed next to Morgan and picks up the still almost full glass. Morgan watches him as he slowly lifts the spoon with a piece of ice and puts it to Morgans mouth for him to take it, and Morgan does. 

"This will make your throat feel better . . .then you might be able to talk to the doctor by the time he gets here" 

Morgan nods, and Jake doesn't say anything more and neither of them make eye contact. Jake does continue to feed him the ice though until it's all gone and the doctors there. Surprisingly it worked and Jake was actually right, the ice did help and Morgan was able to speak with the doctor.

The visit wasn't very long, the doctor took some test and told Morgan that there was no way he was playing the next game with the boys. This upset Morgan though because they were playing Montreal again, it was a back to back series and this game was taking place in Montreal tomorrow, the team was flying out tonight then would be back again the morning after the game. Jake rubs his arm comforting him, this close contact is new for them but it does make Morgan feel better and he knows he wouldn't do the team any good anyway. 

Morgan spends the day in bed with Jake bringing him in soup and ice. At some point when he dozed off Jake must have went out and got his medicine because when he woke Jake had just put it on his nightstand beside him. The rest of the time after Jake had finished packing he laid on the bed beside Morgan, they learned that it wasn't contagious, so Jake was saved. They watched the sports highlights until it got old. Jake gets up and pops in a DVD, Morgan know exactly what it is in the first 5 seconds . . . The Lion King, his favourite. He wondered how Jake had known this, he doesn't tell anyone because they would chirp him like crazy if they knew, and he got enough of that on a daily basis. 

"I . . . ugh this movie was always my favourite as a kid I would always watch it when I was ah sick and it um always ahh made me feel better so I figured it would ahhh cheer you up." Jake stuttered and babbled on.

Morgan looked over and he could see the pink creep across Jakes checks and down his neck. Jake wouldn't look over at him though, just keep staring at the TV. It was moments like this Morgan thought maybe something was between them, but it was just hopeful thinking and Jake was probably just embarrassed by his favourite movie being a Disney movie. 

 

Before it was time for Jake to leave to catch his flight he made a finale check on Morgan and brought him the next season of breaking bad and the biggest glass he could find full of ice and made sure Morgan Knew how much of each medicine to take. He was worried about Morgan being so sick and alone and none of the guys were here to chirp him about it, so yes he let his softer side show. After all, that's what roommates were for right? To look after each other, same as being part of the team. 

Morgan really didn't want Jake to leave, he had actually started to feel safe and not as dead with Jake there beside him. He knew better then to allow his feelings for Jake out but he was sick and just done with everything and thinking about Jake made him happy. He let his eyes follow Jake as he walked around the bed handing Morgan the glass of ice. Jake leaned over him to haul the blankets further up his chest. Morgan didn't try to but he caught Jakes eye and they stayed there with Jake still leaning over him just staring at each other. Morgan didn't know what flashed across Jakes face but he had never seen it before. 

Before either of them knew what was happening Jake leaned down and gently kissed him on the lips. Morgan let out a startled sound that was not quite a moan but almost a gasp. Jake straightened up, realizing what he had done. Quickly he walked to the door and stopped, with his back to Morgan he says, " please promise me that if you need anything or you get worse you'll call someone, don't worry about bothering anyone else." 

" Yea I promise." Morgan replied quietly, voice still hoarse. That voice did something to Jake, sent butterflies to his stomach and stirred a more intense feeling even lower. 

"Ok I will call you when we get in the hotel to check in on you"

"Sorry" Jake whispered as he walked out to grab his bag, not turning around to look behind him as he headed off to meet the team to fly out together. 

 

Morgan couldn't hear what Jake had said but the way his shoulders had fallen and the way he walked wasn't his normal self confident Jake. This Jake looked torn and depressed, Morgan had called for him to come back but his voice cracked, not letting him be loud enough to be heard. Morgan listened to him leave and told himself that they would make things better that night when Jake called. 

 

The whole plane ride sucked, not only was he secretly terrified of flying but he usually had Morgan there to distract him, with those little smiles, jokes and giggles that were saved jut for him. 

Morgan might not have been there physically but he was definitely in Jakes head, and it wasn't distracting him in the good way the real Morgan would have if he was there. Slowly the guys started drifting into their own space on the plane. Jake put his headphones on and tried to just focus on the music but somehow the words would always bring him back to Morgan. Frig he really messed things up, Morgan will probably never want to see him again, then he will have to move out and they probably won't be able to be on the same line anymore or get to hang out with him when they weren't on the ice. Jake doesn't think he could play hockey like that. He can feel the water build behind his eyes and the prickling feeling take over, his throat tightens and knows he can't lose him, he just can't, it wouldn't be right, but what if that kiss had messed everything up. Maybe he could convince Morgan that it was just an accident. 

To stop the tears before they come he thinks of all their happy moments together, all Morgans smiles and laughs and all the time they spend together. It works, he can feel the prickling feeling subside. Everyone on the team chirps Morgan, he's the rookie, but the all love him, they even nicknamed him puppy. And Jake realizes just how much of a puppy he is, he is always so bright and energized and he can cheer anyone up just by being in his presence. It's on this thought that Jake finally drifts to sleep. 

 

Morgan was feeling no better and no worse, he sleeps most of the day so he doesn't have to keep replaying the last few moments with Jake before he left. He was bummed when Jake didn't call him after they got to Montreal, he guessed it had probably just been a rough flight and Jake was tired and fell asleep before he could call. 

The next day Morgan sent Jake a few texts but he never got a reply. Was Jake regretting the kiss, maybe it was a mistake and he really didn't mean it and Morgan was just getting ahead of himself. But he couldn't help it, he had started having feelings for his roommate when they had started training together and spending most of their time together. He had managed to keep all his feelings shoved down but after the kiss he didn't want to shove them back down. If it was a mistake and Jake was regretting it though Morgan would have no other choice he would have to go back to hiding and keeping everything to himself. 

That night Morgan laid in his bed and watch the game on CBC. The last time he had watched hockey night and Canada, it had been sat on the couch with a bunch of his best buds from Moose Jaw. He cheered the guys on just as he would have if he had been on the bench sitting beside them. 

Toronto was playing strong again tonight, they were on a winning streak and the guys were all hot. They won the game 3-0, Mo was hoping they would choose Jake for the post game interview, he just had to see him. Reimer was the guy they went with, and Morgan could see why, James had played amazing in net and had a well earned shut out. But that didn't help when his thoughts started drifting to how Jake was in the room celebrating with the guys jumping up and down with his fist pumping to what every song they had chosen. Morgan always tried to take small glances at Jake after wins, he was always so adorable when he was happy, Morgan could feel his cheeks burning even though no one was around to see him.

Two hours after the game Morgan's phone rings, he grabs it without checking the screen, assuming it's Jake. However when he answers it's not Jakes voice he hears. 

"Hey, how are you doing Mo?" Comes Reimers soft voice from the other end. 

"Ugh . . . Alright, have been better I guess. Where's Jake?"

" Haha don't worry he's not gone too far, just gone out with a few of the guys for some drinks. He asked me to call you and check in, even though I was already going to text you." Reims answers with a cheer to his voice and Morgan knows that Reims is sitting there with a smile plastered on to his face, he doesn't blame the guy. Morgan however is sitting there with a frown, does Jake really not care, he would rather go out with the guys and have Reims check in on him rather hen checking in himself before going out. 

"Oh. um okay then, thanks for checking in on me, you played well tonight big guy."

"Thanks bud, don't get yourself to down ok, they aren't going out to pick up women, they are just having a few drinks," ugh why does Reims always know what he's thinking? 

"Well, uh, okay I'm going to um, go get some sleep and try to rest so I am better for the game on Monday. Congrats on the shutout by the way." 

"Thanks, it wasn't easy but the guys played well in front of me tonight. Hope you're feeling better soon, missed you out there tonight, okay?"  
"Okay, goodnight Reims."

"Goodnight pup," and with that Reims was gone. 

Morgan put the phone on his nightstand, shut the TV off and rolled over to try and get some sleep. He could still smell Jake on his pillow from where he had laid on the bed with Morgan the day before. Morgan switched the pillows so he was lying on the one that smelt like Jake, it comforted him and he was able to get some sleep. 

 

Jake hadn't actually gone out with any of the guys, he just needed time to himself. He asked Reims to call Morgan though so he could know that the team still cared for him and was in their thoughts.   
Jake had turned off his phone earlier that day, he had got a few messages from Morgan but he couldn't bring himself to look at him. He couldn't have gone into the game knowing Morgan was mad at him , but now that he was alone in his hotel room he could read them. There was over 20 messages half from friends and family congratulating him on the win or wishing him luck before the game. The other half however was from Morgan. He stilled and clicked on his name. 

This was not what he was prepared for.

"Hey call me please."

" Please, I'm not mad at you."

" I need to hear your voice."

" Good luck with the game tonight, you will do amazing."

"Congrats on the Game, you were great, you skated well out there tonight and nice block shots :)"

"If your regretting it, no one has to know, we can forget about it." 

And a few more cute messages that slowly faded into messages of apologies and promises of forgetting what happened. Jake can't believe it, does Morgan really feel this way, do they actually have a chance? Jake needs to know and now. He grabs his bag and heads out, checking in with the coaches, he tells them that he is going to get a early flight back to Toronto so he can take care of Morgan. 

Jake makes it to the airport in time to grab the next flight without having to wait. He gets on the plane and is appreciative when he gets lucky and has the row to himself. Only a quick hour and a bit and he will be home and he can make things better. Jake doesn't know how he hasn't noticed this before but Morgan is the one who makes him happy and can cheer him up after a terrible loss. When Jake starts tearing himself apart because he messed up and it's his fault the other team scored and his fault they lose by a goal, Morgan is always the one that can give him that smile and bump his shoulder and he feels better. He knows then that as long as Morgan will take him that they will be okay. He knew he had feelings for the little puppy but he didn't know they were so strong. Not until he saw Morgan so sick and all the life was drained out of his face, it had truly scared him.

He didn't even think about his fright of flying till it hit him as he was walking to the terminal to collect his bag, his head was too filled with Morgan. 

 

Jake walked into their apartment, it was quiet and all the lights were off, besides the soft light peeking out from the hallway. Jake pulled out his phone, it was almost 3am. He walked into Morgan's room quietly, had had left his lamp on, so Jake could see his face peaceful as he slept. Jake just stood there watching him for a moment, he looked so young and fragile and Jake could see the blankets slowly rise and fall with every breath his Morgan took. 

Jake walked across the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. He started to mumble on about how much he cared for the younger boy and how he needed him in his life. Jake didn't care that Morgan was asleep and wouldn't hear this, he just needed to say it out loud. When he was finished saying everything he had to say he just sat there staring at the wall. 

 

Morgan woke when he felt his bed shift, he opened his eyes and saw Jake sitting on the edge of his bed. He thought he was still dreaming so he just stayed quiet and let him talk. He knew it was a dream when Jake started to confess that he sort of kinda liked Morgan and that he wanted him in his life and would take whatever he could get but would prefer to have Morgan as his. That Morgan could make him smile when he felt like punching someone and could cheer him up with just his puppy smile. Morgan waited patiently and when Jake finished and was staring at the wall, Morgan had to hold him. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Jake, pulling him down so he was lying beside him, he felt Jake stiffen in surprise but relax when he realized what was happening. 

Jake rolled over so he was facing Morgan and they just laid there looking at each other in a new way for the first time. 

"Hey, I, uhhh, I didn't know you were awake . . . I - I meant what I said." He looked so nervous and horrified. Morgan knew how he felt so in reply he reached over and put his hand on the back of Jakes neck and pulled his face closer. He gently touched his lips to Jakes. They shared a few more quick gentle kisses before Jake wrapped his arm around Morgan's side and pulled their bodies together. He deepened the kiss by sucking on Morgan's bottom lip before tugging on it with his teeth and soothing it again by gently running his tongue over it. Morgan moaned and the sound went straight through Jake.

Morgan couldn't get enough of Jake, he wanted more but he was still too weak for it. So he settled for another kiss then let out a contempt sigh. Jake knew what he was asking and held him closer as they fell asleep together. There would be plenty more time for everything they needed when Morgan was better.


End file.
